A virtual local area network (VLAN) is a logical broadcast domain that can span multiple physical local area network (LAN) segments. VLANs have the same attributes as a physical LAN, but allow the grouping of host devices even if they are not located on the same physical LAN segment. For example, all host devices (e.g., computers, workstations, servers, printers, etc.) used by a particular workgroup can be connected to the same VLAN, regardless of their physical connections to the network or the fact that they might be intermingled with other workgroups. VLANs enable reconfiguration of a network through software, rather than by physically unplugging and moving devices or other hardware.
VLANs are usually associated with Internet Protocol (IP) subnetworks. For example, all of the host devices in a particular IP subnetwork may belong to the same VLAN.